Couple ties knot on board train, wedding solemnised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

New Delhi: In what seemed like a bid to be on the right track, a couple tied the knot on board a flower-bedecked train, with the ceremony solemnised by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Pharmacist Sachin Kumar and tax department employee Jyotsna Singh Patel were wedded somewhere between Gorakhpur and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, it said.

“This is the way to conduct weddings — simply. It is a message I want to send everywhere that weddings should be simple and people need not take loans and spend lakhs for it,” said Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living group, in a video message released by his organisation.

Kumar, from Udhani Khurd village in Kausambi, Uttar Pradesh, works in Bhadohi in the state while Patel is with the Central tax department. The marriage was solemnised by Ravi Shankar on the special train in which he has been travelling for a yatra across Uttar Pradesh. It was not clear if the newlyweds were a part of the AOL guru’s entourage or among the many followers who have been greeting him during his halts through the journey.

“Perhaps first time in the history of Indian Railways, a marriage happened during the train journey! Jyotsna and Sachin got married in the presence of Gurudev @SriSri ,” tweeted a follower of Ravi Shankar, tagging the prime minister as well as the railway minister. Scores of pictures of the garlanded couple were also posted on the site.